Our winter nights as children
would find us lying next to the floor vent
of the heater, at most two of us at a time, in our old drafty house, just to stay warm.

Dad would line the windows
with plastic and stuff towels in
the cracks of the panes to
stop the cold air from coming through.

A few times, we only had
the heat of our oven to warm up the kitchen,
Several bedrooms were locked up
to conserve what heat we had,
dad would always drip water from the faucet
to keep the pipes from freezing

My parents couldn't afford much
in those days, not on a mechanic's wage,
and feeding a family of eight
Our warmth was what we had,
our bond in the winter months
It' was not much warmth, but it was ours.

Our walks to school were even colder,
bristling through the knee deep snow
in our second hand, Goodwill jackets
and two pairs of thin gloves and socks
to keep our fingers and toes from freezing.

Every morning, my mom would prepare us
either a hot, steeping bowl of oatmeal
or cream of wheat, the smell of dad's military
coffee lingered throughout the house,
long after he left for work.

It was those mornings, I remembered most though,
those 6 am mornings, in a old, drafty house,
you could hear my dad shuffling the newspaper
just before my mom would knock on our bedroom doors to get us up

Its been a month of your passing,
I can still hear you rustle the newspaper
and I can still smell your burnt military coffee
every morning since and I still don't want
to get out of bed

We didn't have much warmth in that old, drafty house, but it was all ours.

As a child, he whispered newfound dreams
to a delighted dandelion, before
he softly blew it to pieces.
He watched the tiny parachutes
float away in mother nature’s warm breath,
until the seeds arrived at their destination.

But now, he is throwing those dreams
into the ocean like useless rocks.
He watches them as they hit the wet surface
and vanish in a heartbeat.
Rings emerge, one after another,
until the debris of those dreams are gone.

I feel nothing but pain

I won't lie to my self

Saying "Ill be okay"

Facing these demons everyday

I hope in time

I'll  find the strength to slay

Only then, will I ever really be

okay

She stood beneath the dying sun, with crimson mist
surrounding her at the very edge of the world.

Here she experienced the explosions of pure silence for
the first time, since being born into a world of noise.

She smiled and looked back to see the last burning bridge
destroying everything around it, to later vanish from the surface.

Later the rain will wash away the flaws that remain,
until another bridge magically appears out of the blue.

With a chill kiss from the November wind,
she closed her eyes and jumped.

Her fall broke the silence and the noise
claimed the last corner of stillness.

Your mouth gleams blue under the veil of the full moon.
Your perfect pearl teeth light up like thousands of falling stars ready to face their doom.
Your eyes are reflected in the whispering bay, while your raven black eyelashes extend like mournful hands up against the dark sky.
Your cheeks flare up as the warmest fire place on earth.